


Someday

by mykkila09



Series: The Ninjetti [1]
Category: Power Rangers
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Romance, break-ups
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-21
Updated: 2016-04-10
Packaged: 2018-02-09 19:52:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1995753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mykkila09/pseuds/mykkila09
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em> Story starts three days after Tommy gets the letter; he did not go skiing with Kat and Billy</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Kim regrets ending things with Tommy the way she did and decides to talk to him. The consequences of that decision will be none that either saw coming</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Need to Explain Myself

Tommy lay on his bed, one arm behind his head, the other holding a letter. His eyes scanned the words over and over again, as though they would change each time. But he knew that they wouldn’t. The words were there and wouldn’t change no matter how much he wished it. As he looked at it again, he couldn’t believe what he was reading;

_…I’ve met someone else…in some ways you’re like a brother…_

Kim had broken up with him. She had gone and fell in love with someone else, someone that wasn’t him. He got the letter three days ago, and even now, he still couldn’t understand. He had been hurt and confused, and though he was still in the confuse stage a bit, he was now firmly planted in the anger stage and he welcomed it. Anger was better than sadness. His anger seemed to be focused on Kim, the others and Coach Schmidt. He was angry at Kim for leaving, and for breaking up with him; he was angry at the others for the looks of pity that they gave him, for the way they had acted around him ever since he got the blasted letter. Out of the team though, he was most angry at Kat. He knew what her idea was when she suggested that they go skiing, she didn’t know it but he had overheard her talking about setting him up on a date, _‘Seriously, my girl just broke up with me and she’s trying to set me up with someone else. What the hell was she thinking?’_ he sighed as he placed the letter on his chest. He might be forgetful and sometimes dense, but he wasn’t so bad that he couldn’t figure out that the Australian blonde had feelings for him. From the moment she joined the team, Kat was always trying to be where he was. She would always touch him or would prefer to sit next to him rather than any other team member. At first he had thought that she was nervous about being around everyone and had clung to him because they were both used by Rita, but now he knew better. Even though it was harsh and mean, it was also the truth, he knew that Kat thought that she could take Kim’s place on the team and from the way he knew she felt about him, she was trying to replace her in his life as well.

 _‘I really hope she gets over this crush soon, because she’s not my type. She’s too in your face, and a bit too clingy for me.’_ Forcing his thoughts from Kat, he focused on the last person he was angry at. Coach Schmidt.

‘ _I regret the day that man showed up in town,”_ he sighed angrily, _‘He’s the reason Kim broke up with me. If he hadn’t come here, then Kim never would’ve have left and I wouldn’t have lost her.’_

From the moment he saw the man looking at Kim that day in the youth center, when recognition had seeped in about who he was, he knew what was about to happen. He knew what the man was there for and in that moment he had felt fear. He had wanted to shove him out of the center and then pretend that he was never there. When Kim had gotten the offer, even though he knew that it was her dream and was happy for her, he couldn’t help but wish she didn’t have to go. And now he hated Schmidt even more. Letting out another angry sigh, he let his eyes roam the letter once more, before getting up and dropping it on the bed. He went and stood in front of the window, bracing his hands on the glass. He saw that it was raining and was inwardly pleased that weather matched his mood. His eyes followed the drops as they splattered on the glass before sliding down. After a while, he became aware of someone standing behind him, and immediately he knew who it was. The person didn’t make any noise, but by the way his heart beat faster, his palms grew slightly damp and the scent of a strawberry shampoo that teased his senses, they didn’t have to. There was only one person that had that scent and could cause such a reaction in him. He closed his eyes and refused to turn around, knowing that they would speak anyways. He didn’t have to wait long. His thoughts on who it was were confirmed when he heard his name,

“Hello Tommy.”

~...~

The young woman paced her room almost reverently. She would stop for a few seconds, before resuming her actions. Her thoughts were going over the last few days and the decision that she had made. Kimberly Hart, seventeen years old, former power ranger and now Olympic Trainee, was agitated. She had broken up with her boyfriend of almost three years, Tommy Oliver, and she regretted it ever since. She had told him that she had met someone else, which was the furthest thing from the truth. She never met anyone else; the whole letter was a lie. The only problem is, Tommy didn’t know that.

 _‘Of course he doesn’t know that. God Kim, you told him you met someone else. You demeaned your relationship by saying he was like your brother. Your brother!’_ she sighed. _‘What am I going to do?’_ Her gaze fell on the bracelet lying on her bedside table; only it wasn’t a bracelet but rather, the communicator that Billy had made for her. _‘There’s only one thing left to do.’_  She walked over to it and picked it up. Her fingers played as she thought on what she was about to do, _‘Come on Kim, you can do this. Besides, you owe him an explanation.’_ With that thought, she pressed one of the buttons on the side. “Zordon do you read me?”

“Yes Kimberly, I do,” she heard, “What can I do for you?”

“I was wondering if I could ask a favor?”

“What is it?”

She took a deep breath, “I assume you know about the letter?”

“Yes I do,” he replied.

“Well I was wondering if you could teleport me to Tommy’s. I need to talk to him, to explain some things.”

“As you wish my young crane.”

“Thank you Zordon.”

“No problem,” he said, “Prepare for teleportation.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth, did she feel the familiar sensation of the teleportation beam. When she opened her eyes, she saw that she was in Tommy’s room. She looked around until she spotted him standing in front of the window. She knew that he knew that she was standing behind him, though he made no attempt to move. She stared at him for a few more minutes before speaking, “Hello Tommy.”


	2. Explanations and Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kim and Tommy finally hash out their relationship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** sorry for the seriously long wait...forgive me...

Kim looked at Tommy, really looked at him. Her gaze took in his appearance and saw that he was wearing a white wife-beater and black and white slacks. She always loved seeing him in white, and though she knew that he was the red ranger now, she knew she would never get used to him in that color and would always prefer him in white.

Deciding that he had ignored her enough, she sat on his bed before turning to him, “So are you going to stand there and ignore me or are you going to turn around?”

For a second, the angry part of him wanted to continue to ignore her, but the more curious part of him, the part that would always love her, wanted to know exactly why she was there. Taking a deep breath, he turned away from the window to face her. The breath that he let out, was quickly caught again as he took in her appearance. She was wearing a white buttoned up top and pink shorts, reminding him of times when she was still a ranger.

As much as he adored her in pink, he absolutely loved her in white…his color. It always made him feel possessive, like she was announcing to the whole world that she was his and his alone. Seeing her in white never failed to generate a reaction out of him, and it didn’t fail now. Looking up at the smile on her face, he knew that she knew exactly what she was doing to him.

Scowling, he leaned against his dresser, crossed his arms and across his chest and asked, “What are you doing here Kim?”

“To talk,” she said simply.

“I think you’ve said all that you need to,” he said as he gestured towards the letter lying on the bed. Her eyes drifted towards it for a few seconds, before closing. She took a breath and let it out slowly. She opened her eyes and looked right at him.

“Look Tommy, I know you’re angry—

“Oh really? Of course I’m angry Kimberly!” he yelled. He was thankful that his parents had gone to that conference earlier tonight and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow afternoon. “How would you feel if the person you loved more than anything broke up with you in a letter?”

“I admit, the letter wasn’t the brightest idea,” she started as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear; a sign that he knew meant she was nervous. _‘_

_'Good,’_ he thought, _‘she should be nervous.’_

“You don’t say,” he replied sarcastically. She shot him a look of irritation.

“Look Tommy, I came here to talk,” she said as she folded her arms. “But you don’t have to be so freaking—

“So freaking what, Kimberly?” he asked, “Upset? Irritated? Confused? Of course I have right. Exactly how do you want me to act?”

“I know I hurt you, but you could at least be civilized enough to hear the reason behind the letter,” she said.

“I know the reason,” he replied, “You went and fell in love with someone else.” She ducked her head. Taking a breath, she thought on not his words, but his actions. Looking up at him, she replied, “And here I thought you knew me.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” his brows furrowed in confusion.

“It means exactly what I said,” Kim said as she stood up and walked over to him. “You’re supposed to be my _best_ friend, the one that knows me better than anyone else. So it goes to show just how much you _loved_ me and how well you _know_ me, when you didn’t even question a letter that was supposedly from me.”

“Supposedly?” he asked, “Does that mean you didn’t write the letter?”

“I did write the letter Tommy,” she replied as she got nearer, “But I guess it was the right thing to do, if only for the fact that I found out exactly what you think of me.”

“And what do I think of you?” he asked as frustration raced through him.

“That I’m cold-hearted person that doesn’t care about the people around her,” she said, pain and anger coloring her tone. “That I would willingly and deliberately hurt the one person that meant more to me than anything like that.”

“What was I supposed to think when I got that letter?” he asked, wincing inside at the pain in her voice.

“YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO KNOW ME!” she yelled. Stepping away from him, Kim took a calming breath, or at least she tried to. It hurt a lot to know that Tommy didn’t know her as well as she thought he did.

It hurt that he could believe the letter without calling her to see if it was true or not. _‘How could he think that I would throw away the best thing that happened to me like that? At least without a valid reason.”_

“What?”

“You’re supposed to know me Tommy,” she said as she turned her back on him. “Do you know how much it hurt to know that the one person you expected to know you beyond reasoning gave up on you so easily? You didn’t even fight for me. Why?”

Tommy felt most of his anger draining away. He let out a frustrated sigh as his mind went over their conversation. _‘I’m so confused. Did she lie in the letter? How could she think that I gave up on her? But shouldn’t I have? **She** broke up with **me**...and in a letter no less.’_

“Did you even love me?” she asked softly. “You were so quick to believe the letter that I have to wonder if it was so easy to fall out of love with me, or if you ever loved me at all.”

“What?” he asked, anger coursing through him. _‘How dare she imply that I didn’t love her?’_

"Of course I love you Kim," he continued, "I can’t believe that you would ask that. Do you think that if I hadn’t fallen in love with you, I would have gone through hell just to be with you?”

"Then why didn’t you fight for me?” she whirled around to face him. “You fought Zedd for me, so why didn’t you fight now?”

“You had a boyfriend, you went and fell in love with someone else and now you’re asking how could I fall out of love with you so easy?” he remarked. “Honestly, Kimberly, what did you expect me to do?”

“I expected you to call me!” she snapped out. “The letter was a lie Tommy, there was no one else. And if you had called me, then you would’ve known that. But I guess you didn’t care, did you? You never did.”

“What?”

Sighing, she turned to the door. “This was a mistake. I should never have come here. What was I thinking?”

At her words, Tommy stood still. This was his one chance to get everything straight, to find out what went wrong between them. He paused for a fraction when her words hit him;

_...the letter was a lie Tommy; there was no one else..._

_‘A lie? The letter was a lie?’_ He came out of his thoughts when he heard his door open.

In his panic, he never realized that he had moved. He was startled to realize that his hand was around her arm. “Wait,” he said softly. “Don’t go.”

“Why not Tommy?” she asked, her heart pounding when she felt the familiar pull that she always did when they touched. “It seems to me that you would prefer to be angry and not hear what I have to say.”

“Kim, you have to understand how I feel,” he said as he pulled her back to his bed. He sat them down before he continued. “You were not only my girlfriend, but you were my best friend. When I got that letter, I felt as if my whole world had just come crashing down on me. Everyone was looking at me in pity or disbelief. I felt so lost, so alone. It hurt so much Kim, so when I saw you, I let the anger get the better of me.”

During his talk, he had started to run his hand up her arm.

Kim felt herself relaxing at the touch, as she realized that he wasn’t even aware he was doing it. That told her that he at least still cared about her. When he finished, she let out a sad sigh. She understood him better than anyone and she did know how he felt.

“How do you think I felt Tommy?” she asked softly, her hair falling to cover her face as she ducked her head. “You were my everything; my best friend, my boyfriend, the one person I knew I could count on. Do you think it was easy to write that letter? I was not only breaking your heart Tommy, I was breaking mine.”

“Then why the letter Kim?” he asked in confusion. “If you didn’t want to break up with me, then why did you?”

“Because I had to,” she said.

“What does that mean exactly?”

“When was the last time we talked?” she asked as she finally raised her eyes to look at him. “I mean really talked.”

He opened his mouth to answer, but closed it after a few minutes as he racked his brain, desperately trying to remember.

Seeing it, Kim let out a sad smile. “That’s what I thought.”

Tommy shook his head. “Kim...”

“We haven’t talked in forever Tommy,” she said, “Every time I call, you’re either just getting home from a fight or you’re on your way to one. If not that, then you have something to do either at school or at the youth center. And with my gymnastics, I’m so busy. So much so that I barely have time for me...that sometimes I’d forget to call you.” She paused. “Do you know the first time that happened, I freaked out? I couldn’t believe it. You were the most important thing to me and I had forgotten to call you.”

“You were probably tired from your gymnastics Kim,” he said as he grabbed her hand. “I know that I get really knackered out from all the fighting and with school, so I know how it feels.”

“But I shouldn’t forget to call you or be too tired to even want to talk to you,” she vehemently replied. “And that’s what scares me. You are _the_ most important thing in my life, but lately it feels as if we’re drifting apart. I know I freaked the first time I forgot to call you, but after a while when it happened again, I wasn’t even worried about it. It didn’t register in my mind at all and when I didn’t hear from you either, it didn’t bother as much as it should have, and that’s what freaked me out.”

She paused before she looked over at him. She lifted her free hand and rubbed his cheek. “We’re drifting apart Tommy, I can feel it. And I know you can too. That’s why I wrote the letter. I didn’t want us to drift so apart that we ended up cheating on each other. I love you Tommy, and I always will, but I do stand by what I wrote in the letter.”

“Kim, what are you saying?” he asked. Twin emotions of elation and fear pounded through his veins. Elation because he now knew the reason and she had said that she still loved him and fear because of what she was implying.

She took a breath as she knew that her next words would set him off. “I think….I think that we should break up.”

“WHAT?!” he yelled as he stood up.

“Tommy—

“No Kim,” he cut her off. “You want to break up with me? Why?”

“I told you Tommy,” she stood up as well. “We’re drifting apart. It’s better to do this now rather than later.”

“And how is breaking up supposed to help us?” he asked, anger still coloring his voice.

“Tommy if you would just listen and try to understand then you would see what I’m saying makes sense.”

“How? How does it make sense?” he asked.

“Think about it Tommy, think and you’ll see I’m right,” she said she sat on the bed again. “We are drifting apart Tommy, and if you would stop, you would see it.”

“Kim...”

“Tommy,” she pleaded softly. “Do you think that I would put us through this if I didn’t think it was the right thing to do? I do love you Tommy, but this has to happen. Stop fighting, stop feeling angry and just think.”

He looked at her. He was angry at her for saying what she did. He didn’t want to hear that she wanted to break up with him. They were in love with each other. Anybody could see that. From the moment he saw her, he knew that she was something special, and when they had met, officially, he knew that she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. They were only 17, and some people would say that they were too young to know what love was, but that didn’t change how they felt about each other.

_‘I always thought that we wanted the same thing, I guess I was wrong.’_ He sighed as he thought on her words. As he looked back at his actions and feelings for the past few weeks, he realized that she was right. They were drifting apart. _‘Damn, how did this happen to us?’_

“Tommy?” she tentatively reached out to grab his hand. When she saw that he allowed the touch, she let out a breath. “What are you thinking?”

“That you’re right,” he responded as he sat next to her on the bed. “You’re absolutely right Kim. Now that I think about it, I can see what you mean. We are drifting apart, I don’t want that to happen, but I don’t know how to stop it either.”

“I know, that’s why I got scared,” she admitted softly. “I know the letter was a bad move, but at the time, it was the only thing I could think of. I know that you don’t want to break up, but it is the only way. Because of my gymnastics, my life is pulling me in a different direction. And it’s the same with you because of the rangers. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not mad that you’re a ranger as that would be hypocritical as I was one, but it is what you are Tommy and as much as you don’t like it, I don’t think that it will let you go yet.”

“I hate that you’re right,” he let out a wry chuckle.

“We’ve been through a lot Tommy," she continued, "more than any couple have been or should have to go through. But all that just made us stronger as people and as a couple. But sometimes...sometimes it felt like...”

“It felt like it was too much," He finished for her, "We tried so hard and we fought everyone and every thing for what we have and it seems as if life doesn’t want that to happen.”

“Exactly,” she said. “All of our dates interrupted by either a monster or something else...lying to our parents, to our teachers. It was hard. But even through all that, I still loved being a ranger. I loved helping people. But we’re only teenagers and because of all that, I believe our journey is now pulling in two different directions. I don’t want you to give up your life for me Tommy.”

“And I don’t want you to give up yours for me either,” he said softly. “So where do we go from here?”

“We break up,” she replied. “I don’t want to, I really don’t want to, but we have to. It’s not the end of us. It’s more like a separation for a while. We go our separate ways, find our separate identities and then someday, when our place is secured, when there is nothing else that will pull us from each other, we try again. That is if we’re still single and I believe that we will be. I love you Tommy and I always will and no matter if we’re breaking up, my heart will always be yours.”

He was quiet as he thought on everything she just said. It all made sense to him and in his heart; he knew that she was right. They were drifting apart and their lives were going in different directions. He didn’t want to lose her or give her up, but he still understood what she was saying. It was better to part now on good terms rather than to drift further apart and end up hating each other. With a sigh, he turned to her. “Will we cut all ties with each other?”

“You’re not getting rid of me that easy Tommy Oliver,” she smiled. “Just because we’re breaking up doesn’t mean I still don’t want you in my life, or that I don’t want to be in yours.” She paused. “We were friends before we started dating, we were friends throughout the entire relationship and we can and will be friends after. That is, if you want to.”

“Of course I want to Kim,” he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him. He sighed as he continued. “I don’t want to break up, but I really do understand what you’re saying. I love you too, you know. I always will. I believe that we’re meant to be together and that we will find our way back to each other. My heart belongs to you and only you Kim. I don’t know what’s going to happen in either of our lives, but I do know that I want you in mine. Doesn’t matter if we’re just friends or we’re trying to be _‘us’_ again, but I want you there.”

“And I will be,” she said. “Whatever capacity I can be there, I will be.”

“Good,” he replied, seconds before he kissed her. She was surprised for a few seconds, but responded immediately. The kiss became even more passionate, but Kim broke it.

“Tommy,” she whispered against his lips.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have. We just broke up.”

She closed her eyes at his words. She knew that he was right, but despite that, she had always wanted him to be her first and the more selfish part of her wanted to have him before someone else did. The question was how to tell Tommy what she wanted?

“Kim, are you ok?” he kissed her lips once more. “What are you thinking about?”

Taking a breath, she opened her eyes to look directly into his. “I’ve always thought that you would be my first.”

Her words warmed his heart and made a smile, albeit a sad one, appear on his face. “So did I, but I don’t think that is possible anymore.”

“To those that possess the great power, anything is possible,” she said with a smile. “Isn’t that what Dulcea said?”

He laughed. “But what does that have to do with right now?”

“Because I want it to be true,” she said softly.

“What?” he asked shocked.

“I want you to be my first Tommy,” she said. “I know that our relationship is over, but from the moment we met, I wanted you to be my first, and I still want that. And as selfish as it sounds, I want to be yours as well.”

“Are you sure about this Kim?” he asked, searching her eyes to see if she had doubts, but all he saw was love and assurance.

“I am Tommy,” she shook her head. “I don’t want it to be anyone else but you.” She stopped as she looked at him, something close to fear appearing in her eyes. “Don’t you want to?”

“Of course I do,” he hastened to reassure her. “But I just want to make sure that this is what you want.”

“It is Tommy,” she sighed in relief. “I want it more than anything. I love you and I trust you.”

“I love you too,” he said softly. “Ok.”

“Ok?”

“Yeah,” he said. “My parents always told me that I should wait until I find that someone special or until I was sure that this was something that I wanted. You happen to be both. And doing this will only strengthen what we already have and it will allow us to look back and remember and also give hope that we will find our back to each other; we will have our someday.”

“I love you so much,” she said as tears filled her eyes.

“I know,” and with that, he kissed her. He poured all his love into it and was rewarded with a slight gasp from her. That gave him the chance to slip his tongue into her mouth. They battled for a few minutes, before he broke the kiss to trail his lips down her neck.

Her soft moan only served to encourage him. Her hands traveled over his body before ghosting down to his waist, where she pulled his wife beater off.

With the shirt off, her hands returned down his body before slipping into his pants. Her hands ghost his erection and he stopped his assault on her neck to let out a moan. “Kim...”

“Pants off,” she panted.

He complied and stood in his boxers, his erection making a huge tent. He bent down to his knees and pulled her flip-flops off. His hands traveled up her thighs until he reached her shorts. Unbuttoning them, he leaned up and kissed her as he pulled them off. With those out of the way, he turned his attention to her top. Slowly, he unbuttoned each one, opening her to his gaze. Kim pulled from the kiss to look down at his hands. Her breath became quicker and shorter as she watched him watch her.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said softly. He reached out a hand and cupped her.

Her head fell back with his name on a moan. “Tommy.”

Taking that as his initiative, he bent forward and captured her nipple in his mouth.

“Oh God Tommy,” she panted. “Please...I need you.”

Pulling away from her, he looked up into her eyes and saw the pure, raw desire. It was enough to push him over the edge.

Standing up, he pulled her with him, and fused his mouth to hers. He pushed her backwards onto the bed and climbed up over her. As they kissed, his hands trailed down her body and removed his boxers. Seconds later, her panties followed removing the last barrier between. Reaching over in his drawer for a condom, he donned it and then looked at her.

“It’s ok, I want this...I want you,” she breathed.

Nodding, he shifted his body until he was in position. Capturing her gaze once more, he eased himself inside her. When he came to her barrier, he paused. Seeing her nod and take a breath, he swiftly pushed his way in. Kim let out a painful gasp and clutched his shoulder. He stopped to allow her time to adjust to him, though it was hard when every nerve in his body screamed for him to move. After she gave him the ok, he moved slowly as not to hurt her. She whimpered as she felt pleasure replace the pain. Her arms moved from his shoulder down his arms and over his chest. He bent down to kiss her as he increased his pace.

“Tommy...oh God...don’t stop.”

“Never,” he replied. It was their first time, so he knew they, especially him, wouldn’t last. He could already feel the beginning of his orgasm. “God Kim...I love you so much.”

All she could do was moan. She moved her hand to his neck and pulled him down for a feverish kiss. As they kissed, she raised her legs to wrap them around his waist, resting them on his lower back. The new position caused him to go deeper, which brought groan from both of them. Shifting his hand to her waist, he pulled his lips from hers to rest their foreheads together.

As they looked into each other eyes, he increased his pace. Kim’s head fell back and she clutched him tighter. The coil inside her was getting tighter and she knew it would only be a matter of minutes before she came.

Tommy felt his orgasm coming closer. His breathing quickened, as did his pace, as did Kim’s.

“Tommy...I’m so close.”

Leaning down to kiss her, he increased his pace even more. Hearing her cries get louder, he knew that she was very close, as was he.

Reaching down between them, his hands found her clit and he rubbed it a few times. Kim screamed as her orgasm washed over her. Feeling her clenched tight around him triggered his own orgasm and with a shout of her name, he came.

After, they lay together under the covers.

Tommy lay on his back with Kim resting her head on his chest. Placing a kiss on her head, he asked softly, “Are you ok?”

“I’m good Tommy,” she smiled as she raised her head for a kiss. Complying, he bent his head to meet her. “I love you.” She said as he pulled away.

“I love you too Beautiful,” he replied as he settled back on the pillow. Closing his eyes, he pulled her closer as he pulled the covers to fully cover them. Within minutes, both were asleep.

~...~

A few hours later, Tommy turned in his sleep and woke up after reaching for Kim and realizing that she wasn’t there. Opening his eyes, he saw her sitting on the edge of his bed.

“Hey,” she said softly.

“Hey,” he replied. He looked at her and realized that she was already dressed. “You’re leaving?”

She ducked her head for a few seconds before looking back at him. “Yeah, can’t stay any longer. People might start noticing and that’s the last thing either one of us needs.”

“OH, ok,” he moved from his spot to sit next to her. “You having second thoughts?”

“A lot,” she smiled a watery smile. “But that’s to be expected, right?”

“Hey don’t cry,” he said as he gathered her in his arms. “We talked about this, remember? It’s not forever Kim.”

“I know,” she wiped her tears and snuggled further into his embrace. “I mean, I was the one that came up with it, but….”

“But what?” he asked.

“I don’t know, it’s just second thoughts,” she sighed.

“I don’t want us to break up Kim, but I do understand what you were saying earlier,” he said as he kissed softly. “I love you Kim, and it’s because I love you why I’m willing to do this. You were right earlier about everything. Don’t worry about it Kim. I have faith in us and I have faith that we’re going to make it.”

“When did you become the smart one?” she smiled.

“When I got some,” he replied cheekily. In response she laughed and slapped him on his arm. She stood up and stepped into her shoes. She turned back to him and pressed her lips to him in a short passionate kiss.

“Someday?” she asked with a smile. He pulled her back for another kiss.

“Count on it,” he smiled as he let her go. “I love you Beautiful. Never forget that.”

“I won’t,” she responded as she stepped back. “I love you too Tommy, always and forever.”

“Same here Kim,” he responded. “I’ll be seeing you Beautiful.”

“We will have our someday Tommy,” she smiled. “I promise you that.”

“I’ll hold you to it,” he stood up and walked over to her. He gave her one last kiss and stepped back. “Someday.” She smiled at him and raised her wrist to her lips. “Zordon?”

“I read you.”

“I’m ready.”

“Teleporting now,” he told her.

Seconds before the teleportation beam came over her, she looked up at Tommy. “I love you.”

“Love you too,” he replied and watched as she disappeared in a pink ray of light. He sighed as he moved back to his bed. He settled back under the covers with his hand behind his head. A smile played across his lips as he went over what happened earlier.

_'It was everything I thought it would be.’_

Letting out a sigh, his gaze fell on the clock next to his bed. The display clock read eight o’clock. ‘ _Three hours since she showed up. Three hours since we got everything sorted out.’_

He sighed but smiled as he thought on what happened two hours ago. _‘I still can’t believe we did that. It was amazing.’_ He chuckled. _‘It’s a good thing my parents won’t be home until tomorrow.’_

He rolled over on his side as sleep was coming over him. Letting out a yawn, his gaze caught the picture hanging on his wall. It was a picture of their date, a week after they had defeated Ivan Ooze and it was almost poster sized. He was standing behind Kim, his hands on her waist, looking down at her with a smile on his face. Her body was twisted so that she was looking up at him and she was smiling as well.

Snuggling further into the bed, he let out one last smile and thought, _‘we’re gonna be ok…..everything’s gonna be ok.’_ Tommy closed his eyes and finally let sleep claim him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** the sex scene might be confusing for something people, but I thought it was worth it; almost like a goodbye. I wasn’t even going to write it, but it happened.


	3. King for a Day Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason learns about the breakup; Kim and Tommy have a surprising conversation and Tommy is captured by the Machine Empire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N** : here you go...the next chapter. Now bear in mind that I only saw a few ZEO episodes so I’m not too sure how the machine empire turned Tommy evil or what really happened, so this chapter might not be up to it. With that said...enjoy.
> 
> **Disclaimer:** I own nothing except for Matt and his girlfriend.

It’s been a few months since Kim and Tommy had ended things between them, choosing to remain friends. It had been hard at first, especially the two weeks that followed, but they had gotten through it. It seemed as if the break up was the best thing that happened to them as they found themselves even closer than they were before.

Sitting at a table in the youth center, Tommy looked over at his friends before he let out a sigh. He thought on his ex-girlfriend and his friends. Even after all this time, whenever he thought about the letter and what happened, he was still a little angry at his friends and their reactions. Tanya he could forgive easily as she had never met Kim and was really only following what Kat did.

_‘Man, I never realized that Kat could be such a bitch,’_ he thought to himself. Rocky, Adam and Billy, he was surprised at them.

They knew Kim longer than Kat and Tanya and the way they reacted made him angry at them.

_‘The only person that should be angry is me; after all, I was the one that was dating her. Billy...Billy of all shouldn’t be angry with her, even if it is on my behalf. He knew her longer than I did and should be on her side.’_

Tommy let out another sigh and took a sip of the pop in front of him. Jason hadn’t said anything, but he didn’t defend Kim when they were talking about her either. And that made him completely disappointed in Jason; because as long as Billy knew Kim, Jason was practically her big brother. He was the only person other than Tommy that knew Kim better than anyone. He was supposed to be the one person that should defend her, other than Billy.

As Tommy thought more on his friends, he found himself getting even angrier. Pushing away from the table, he got up and made his way over to the punching bag. He ignored Kat’s questions about where he was going. He pulled his hair into a loose ponytail and started on the punching bag. It wasn’t long before he was engrossed in letting out his anger. After awhile, he heard Kat’s voice,

“It’s obvious he’s still angry over what happened,” she said. “Look at the way he’s attacking the bag. He’s still angry at her, as he should be.” Gritting his teeth, Tommy punched the bag even harder.

“I agree with you Kat,” Billy said. “What Kimberly did, even after all this time, was despicable. I thought I knew her.”

“Guys,” Jason said. “Just let it go. Maybe we should stop talking about Kimberly.”

“You can say that Jason,” Adam said. “But you weren’t here when the letter came. It might’ve been two months ago, but I can still remember every word. Billy’s right, what she did was despicable.”

“What exactly did the letter say?” Jason asked. “All I know is that she broke up with him by letter. I never asked until now, so I’m asking.”

“Basically it said that she thought of him as a brother and that she met the person that she believed was the one for her,” Rocky said. “Adam was the one that read it.”

“Kim really wrote that?” Jason asked.

“Yes, she did,” Kat said.

“A brother? She thought of Tommy like a brother?” Jason shook his head. He now understood why they were so angry with Kim. “After everything that Tommy has been through, how could she hurt him like that?”

Tommy, who was still at the punching bag, when he heard their conversation, he let his anger overwhelm him until he broke the bag off the beam.

Jason and the others looked over at him in shock, as did most of the occupants in the gym. The gang moved towards him.

“Tommy...” Kat called.

“I’ve got to go,” Tommy said. He grabbed his duffle bag and without sparing them a look, he brushed past them. Apologizing to Ernie about the punching bag, he walked out of the youth center.

“What the hell was that?” Tanya asked.

“I don’t know,” Jason frowned.

~...~

_‘How dare they? How could Jason say such a thing? Everyone is thinking about poor Tommy, but did one of them even call Kim and find out what happened? No, they didn’t and they think they know what happened.’_

Shaking out of his thoughts, Tommy was surprised to find himself standing in front of his house. He sighed and walked in. He called out to his parents to see if they were home. When he didn’t get an answer, he walked into the kitchen. Dropping his bag by the door, he walked over to the fridge. As he was opening the door to get something to drink, he saw the note for him. He pulled it off and read what his parents said;

_Tommy,_

_Dad and I had to go out of town for a few days. I’m sorry; we were hoping that you would be home before we left. However, there’s food in the microwave, all you have to do is heat it up. We’ll be back on Monday. In the meantime, take care of yourself, and NO parties. Just Kidding, we know you wouldn’t. If you want to invite the gang over to have a sleep over, we have no problems. See you when we get back._

_Love Mom and Dad._

Tommy let out a sigh as he walked over to the microwave. He opened it and pulled out the plate. When he removed the wrapper from it, he let out a silent thank you to his mom. It was mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, turkey wings and rice...his favorite. As he re-heated the food, his cell phone rang.

Grabbing his bag, he went though it trying to find it. At the last second, he saw it at the bottom of the bag. Grabbing it, he flipped it open. “Hello?”

_“Hey Tommy.”_

“Kim, hey what’s up?” he asked as he leaned against the counter.

_“Nothing much,” she replied. “I just finished up at the gym and I thought I’d call you.”_

“Well, I’m glad you deemed me important enough,” he teased her.

_“Tommy,” she laughed. “Who said you were? I was bored so I called you.”_

“Oh I see,” he laughed. “Anyway, how did your practice go?”

_“It was good,” she said. “I was practicing some flips on the beam and I got those down. But now I really have to work on the uneven bars. I really hate those, but if I’m going to perform at the Olympics, then I need to get it down.”_

“Don’t worry Kim,” Tommy replied as he turned to the microwave. “You’re a very good gymnast and despite every bad word I may have said against Schmidt, he is a really good coach. But even then, you were a great gymnast before you met him and with his help, I bet you became even better.”

_“Thanks Tommy,” she said. “That means a lot, though you might be a little biased.”_

“So what if I am?” he asked just as the microwave beeped. “Hey hold on.”

_“What are you doing?”_

“Getting something to eat,” he said. “My parents are out of town until Monday and my mom left a dinner plate for me.”

_“Oh? What did she cook?”_

“Oh nothing,” he replied nonchalantly. “Just some mashed potatoes, some corn, a little bit of rice, some turkey wing. You know, nothing much.”

_“Hmmm,” she moaned. “I hate you. That sounds really good.”_

“You don’t hate me and it tastes just as good as it sounds,” he laughed. “Too bad you can’t get any.”

_“I know,” she said. “I really miss your mom’s cooking.”_

“Hey how are things with you down there?” he asked. “Apart from the training?”

_“Well, you know that guy Matt I was telling you about?”_

“Yeah?” he asked, silently wondering where she was going with it.

_“He kinda asked me out,” she said._

Tommy slowly placed his spoon on the plate. “What do you ‘kinda’? Either he did or he didn’t.”

_“He did,” she answered._

“And what did you tell him?”

_“Honestly?” she said. “I told him about you.”_

“Huh?” he asked confusion in his voice.

_“I told him all about you and us and why we broke up in the first place,” she said as she relaxed further on her couch._

“And what did he say to that?” he asked as he continued eating.

_“Now this is where it got interesting,” she said. “He told me he understood and that he almost went through the same thing with his girlfriend. Unlike us, they don’t have 3000 miles separating them so they didn’t decide to break up. What they did decide to do was date other people as long as the relationship wasn’t physical; meaning they couldn’t do anything sex related. Kissing was ok, but anything beyond that was a no-go.”_

“Wow,” Tommy said as he placed his empty plate in the dishwasher.

_“I know right?” she said. “He told her about me, how I was a good person and that I had a boyfriend but he really liked me. When I told him about you, and our decision to break up, he told her and she said she wanted to talk to me.”_

“Did you talk to her?” he asked as he went up the stairs to his room.

_“Yes I did,” she replied. “She called me two days ago and we spent most of the afternoon and night on the phone. She’s a really good person, someone I could see myself being friends with. Matt understands that I’m not interested in any of the guys at the gym or any other guy for that matter and he’s constantly being hit on by some of the girls. So we decided that since I was still in love with you and he actually had a girlfriend, then it would benefit us if…._

“If you pretend to date to get everyone else off your backs,” he finished for her.

_“Exactly.” She said.”So what do you think?”_

“Since I’m not your boyfriend anymore,” he started, “I see no problem. I may be a little jealous but I know that your heart belongs to me and that’s all I care about. So with that said, I have no problem.”

_“I’m glad you’re ok with this Tommy,” she said, “But hey what about you?”_

“Kat’s still keeps asking me out,” he let out a frustrated sigh. “You’d think the girl would get the hint that I see her as nothing more than a friend or rather nothing more than a teammate. I don’t even think I see her as a friend anymore.”

_“Wow, I’m sorry,” she said. “But, what do you mean you don’t see her as a friend anymore? What changed?”_

“Today changed that,” he answered. “I was at the youth center with the others and I was working out some frustration on the punching bag when I heard her talking to the guys. What they were saying had me so angry I broke the bag off the chain. I just can’t believe them. They were your friends too and they just discarded you like that just because we broke up.”

_“Yeah, but you’re their leader Tommy,” she said. “And they’re more concerned about you. Did it hurt to have everyone cut me from their lives? Yes, it did. Because none of them even bothered to call and ask for an explanation. And when I called, I either got hung up on or cussed at._

“You never told me they cussed you out Kim,” he said. “Some friends they turn out to be. I mean, even Jason is like that now. I am so pissed at all of them for the way that they are treating you. People break up all the time and in worst ways than a letter. Wait, what about Zack and Trini? You never told me if they contacted you or not.”

_“They did, and they were pissed,” she said. “Especially Zack. Called me a few names.”_

“Are all of our friends so shallow?”

_“Not all of them.”_

“What do you mean?”

_“Aisha called me this morning,” she said. “She heard about the break up from Rocky. She told me that she travels a lot, so letters take a while to get to her. But about a week or two ago she got a letter from Rocky telling her I broke up with you. When she called, I was scared because I thought that she would attack me like everyone else. But she didn’t. You know what the first thing she said was?”_

“What?”

_“She asked me how I was holding up,” she replied. “She told me that she knew how much I loved you and that it couldn’t have been easy breaking up with you. Then she turned around and asked me the real reason I broke up with you...she said she didn’t buy that whole meeting another guy. When I started crying, she asked what was wrong and I told her how everyone else reacted. She was pissed.”_

“She really reacted like that?” he was shocked. He hadn’t really given any thought to Aisha but a part of him did wonder if she was going to treat Km the same as everyone else.

_“Yeah, I was shocked myself,” she said. “I ended up telling her everything; about you, me and Matt. I told her what our decision was when it came to breaking up and she said that she understood and that she supported us in any way that we need. Tommy, you have no idea how good it felt to know that at least one of my so-called friends didn’t ditch me.”_

“I can imagine Kim,” he said. “And I’m so sorry that you have to bear the brunt of everything.”

_“It’s ok,” she said. “So what are you going to do about Katherine?”_

“I don’t want to date her Kim,” he said. “I don’t really like the girl. She’s a good ranger, though not better than you, but that’s all she is to me.”

_“Maybe you should date her.”_

“WHAT?!”

_“Hear me out,” she pleaded. “One thing about her is that she’s persistent. You don’t have to actually date her, just let her know that you have no intention of falling in love with her and that the relationship will not be physical. Maybe hand holding, but that’s it.”_

“Kim...”

_“I know you don’t want to do it Tommy, hell I don’t want you to do it,” she said. “But they will get more on your case if you don’t start dating again. It’s been two months and remember that they think that I have a boyfriend already so they wouldn’t see it as being too soon. And she’s a ranger so you wouldn’t have to keep ditching her to fight monsters.”_

“But I might want to ditch her just for the hell of it,” he grumbled. “I don’t know Kim. I really don’t like her.”

_“But she doesn’t know that, does she?” she asked. “Just keep up the pretense and you’ll be fine. So...what do you think?”_

“I think I’m crazy for even thinking about doing this,” he sighed. “But you did have some valid points. Alright fine, I’ll go on a date with the girl. I swear I’d rather face Goldar powerless than to date her.”

_“You’re too bad Tommy,” she laughed. “Hey I’ve got to go. My roommate is insisting on using the phone, so I’ll talk to you later?”_

“Alright,” he said. “We’ll talk later. Bye Kim.”

_“Bye Tommy,” she said before she hung up._

Tommy sighed as he hung up his phone. He couldn’t believe what Kim told him to do. _‘Man, the things I do for that girl. She’s lucky I love her so much.’_

He relaxed on his bed as he thought over their conversation. He had to admit that what she said about Matt and Kat made sense and he was happy that Aisha was there for Kim when no one else was.

Getting off the bed, he made his way to the bathroom. He didn’t get far as noises behind him made him turn around. When he did, he was shocked to see cogs in his room.

“Man, what are these freaks doing here?” he started fighting. After a few minutes, he raised his wrist to his mouth to call for help. It never went through. He was caught off guard by a blow to the back of his head. Falling to his knees, the last thing he saw was one of the generals for Gasket.

“The Machine Empire requests your presence,” the general said with a laugh. Tommy lost consciousness soon after. They grabbed him and in seconds, his bedroom was empty.

_(The Machine Empire)_

“I have him my Prince,” the general said.

“Good, bring him here,” Gasket commanded. He laughed as he looked down at the unconscious form of the red ranger. “Zordon and those pesky rangers will never know what hit them. Let’s see how they like it when they have to deal with an evil ranger.”

They took Tommy and placed him in one of their empty cells. After twenty minutes, he awoke to the sensation of someone watching him.

“Oh man, my head,” he moaned. “What happened?” he looked around the cell. “And where am I?”

“You’re our guest red ranger,” the general from before said. “And don’t bother trying to fight your way out or even call for help…they’re both useless. You’ll never get out of here until we let you go. And that will be...never.” he laughed as he walked away.

Not even bothering to test the bars, Tommy sat back against the wall. Looking down at his wrist, he saw that his communicator was smashed and his morpher was missing. _‘Oh man I’m in trouble now.’_

_(The Command Chamber)_

“Zordon, I’m picking up disturbances from Tommy’s communicator,” Alpha said.

“Try contacting him Alpha,” Zordon replied.

“Tommy, this is Alpha, can you read me?” Alpha said. All that could be heard was static.

“Alpha, run a scan on Tommy’s home” Zordon said. “I fear that he may be in danger.”

“Right Zordon,” Alpha said as he moved to do what he said. He reconfigured the viewing globe as he tapped into the satellite to get the pictures. What he saw he showed Zordon. “Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi Zordon, it looks like Tommy has been kidnapped.”

“It was as I feared Alpha,” Zordon said. “Contact the other rangers.”

“Rangers, this is Alpha,” he said. “Can you read me?”

_“We read you Alpha,” Jason said. “What’s up?”_

“We need you at the CC right away.”

_“Tommy’s not here Alpha,” Kat said._

“It’s about Tommy,” Alpha said. “Hurry rangers.”

_“We’re on our way,” Jason said._

No sooner had the words left his mouth before they teleported in. “What’s going on Zordon?”

“I’m afraid that Tommy has been kidnapped,” Zordon said. “Behold the viewing globe.” They looked at it and saw Tommy fighting against cogs in his room. They watched as Shego, a general for the Machine Empire, knocked him over the head before grabbing him and disappeared.

“Oh no, Tommy,” Kat said as she watched the man she loved get kidnapped.

“What are they going to do to him Zordon?” Rocky asked.

“There’s only two reasons why they would kidnap a ranger,” Zordon said. “To either kill them or turn them evil.”

“If they turn Tommy evil,” Jason said as his mind flashback on the green ranger. “We have our work cut for us.”

_(Machine Empire)_

Prince Gasket laughed as Tommy’s screams died off. They waited for a few minutes before approaching. Tommy looked up as they approached and they wore evil smiles when they saw his eyes flash green. He stood up and said, “How may I serve my emperor?”

“It worked,” Shego said.

“You doubted me?” Gasket said. He moved to Tommy. “Oh we are not your emperor. You are King here.”

“I am King?” Tommy asked.

“Yes my lord,” Gasket grinned. “And these are your enemies.” He brought up a picture of the power rangers. “They have been trying to destroy your empire.”

“Well, they made a mistake, didn’t they?” Tommy asked. “I think it’s time we teach those meddlesome rangers a lesson. Create a monster and send it to them and make it the strongest one we have.”

“My Lord, if I may?” Shego said. “Instead of sending a monster, why don’t you attack them personally? They would never expect the King to come after them himself.”

“That is an excellent idea,” Tommy chuckled. “Those rangers will never know what hit them.” And with that, all except Gasket disappeared. As he sat on his throne, Gasket smiled to himself.

“Those rangers will soon be destroyed and it will be by none other than one of their own.”

_(Florida)_

Kim opened her door with a sigh. After she had hung up from Tommy, her roommate Renee had been on the phone for about thirty minutes. Then she had dragged Kim out the room and they had gone back to the gym to get some practice in.

Or so Kim thought.

Renee had spent the time checking out the guys. The only highlight was that she had gotten to talk to Matt and told him what Tommy said. He was happy when she agreed to ‘date’ him and they had talked about it. Now she just wanted to curl up on her bed and sleep.

She walked to her bedroom and had just sat on the bed when a strange feeling came over her.

_‘That was weird. It felt like someone was calling out to me.’_

Shrugging the feeling off, Kim toed off her shoes and moved further up on her bed. A few minutes later, the same feeling came back this time only stronger and with it was the call of a very familiar bird.

_‘BRENNAN! What the hell is going on? Why am I hearing Tommy’s falcon?’_

As she listened to the call once more, she heard the distress in its tone. She focused on her love for Tommy and what she felt made her gasp out loud. It was evil, pure evil.

_‘Oh no...Tommy’s evil again.’_

She moved to her phone, but before she could reach it, she heard Brennan calling out again. Closing her eyes, Kim saw the white bird circling above and she whistled to get its attention. It flew straight at her, only to land on her outstretched arm. Looking directly into his eyes, she was unaware that hers flew open and they were glowing white.

“Tommy...”

_(Angel Grove: the Command Chamber)_

The others looked at the viewing globe. What the saw had them shaking their heads. Tommy, along with an army was destroying the town.

“We have to go down there,” Jason said. “Tommy needs us.”

“OK,” Kat said. “But how do we break him out of the spell?”

“I don’t know,” Jason said. “But for now, we have to stop him.”

“Let’s morph first,” Rocky said.

“Alright,” Jason said. Taking a stance, he yelled, “IT’S MORPHIN' TIME!”

“ZEO RANGER 1: PINK!” Kat shouted.

“ZEO RANGER 2: YELLOW!” Tanya yelled.

“ZEO RANGER 3: BLUE!” Rocky yelled.

“ZEO RANGER 4: GREEN!” Adam yelled.

“GOLD RANGER POWER!” Jason shouted. The rangers teleported out to meet Tommy. As they touched down, they saw him standing on the opposite side.

“Tommy this is not you,” Jason called out to him.

“Let us help you,” Kat pleaded as she took a step towards him. She had gotten half way when he blasted her back. She landed hard on her side.

“Kat!” Tanya called as she ran to her friend. “Are you ok?”

“Ugh,” Kat moaned. “That hurt.”

“Keep away from me pink ranger,” Tommy chuckled. “Come near me again and it will be worse.” He turned to Shego. “Do it.”

“As you wish.” The rangers watched as Shego held up a device. He pressed some numbers on it and laughed when a glow came over it before it disappeared. He turned back to Tommy. “It is done.”

“What is done?” Adam asked. “What did you just do Tommy?”

“I don’t want the interfering fool Zordon to disrupt my plans,” Tommy replied. “That device ensured that no one can leave and no one can get in. In other words, you’re trapped here.”

“Why are you doing this Tommy?” Tanya asked. “You’re one of us.”

“I am not one of you and I never will be,” he replied darkly. “I am King and the only thing I will do is destroy you.”

“We won’t fight you Tommy,” Jason said.

“Suit yourself,” he shrugged. “It just makes it easier for me to destroy you once and for all. Prepare to die rangers.” He morphed, and because of the evil that they had placed on the morpher to further turn him, the evil in him was strengthened.

Over in Florida, Kim gasped as she felt the surge of evil. _‘Tommy...not again. It’s going to be hell to get you back.’_ She shook her head and focused on him once more. _‘I’m not letting you go Tommy, even if I have to fight you to get you back...I will.’_

The rangers stood watching Tommy warily. They tensed in anticipation but still weren’t prepared for the blasts from his gun. They cried out as they fell to the ground. Struggling to get up, they saw Tommy coming towards them, sword in hand...

**TBC**


	4. King for a Day Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ZEO rangers face an evil Tommy and some revelations happen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** hey guys...seriously sorry for the extra, super long wait; i will be honest, on top of some very personal stuff i've been going through these last few months (since last year) i kind of forgot i was starting to bring my PR stories to this site. i really am sorry, but i'm slowly getting back to writing so i will be continuing now to post the chapters of this already completed story. Once again, so sorry.

* * *

 

_Last time on Someday:_

_The rangers stood watching Tommy warily. They tensed in anticipation but still weren’t prepared for the blasts from his gun. They cried out as they fell to the ground. Struggling to get up, they saw Tommy coming towards them, sword in hand…_

* * *

 

Jason rolled out of the way just as Tommy brought his sword down on him. Rolling to his feet, he turned to swipe at him but found that he was swiping at air. Looking up, he saw Tommy standing a few feet in front of him.

“Too slow gold ranger,” Tommy taunted. “You’re going to have to better than that. But while you’re at it, let me show how much better you’re going to have to be.”

That was the only warning he got before he found himself fighting to block the blows Tommy was sending. He tried to defend but ended up on the ground again. In that instant, Tommy turned from him and attacked the rest of the team. Rocky and the others didn’t even get a chance to defend themselves before they ended back on the ground. Executing a back-flip, Tommy landed on his feet several feet from them.

“These are the rangers that are supposed to stop me?” he laughed. “Pathetic.”

“He’s right guys,” Adam groaned as he tried to get up. “How are we going to stop him?”

“I don’t know,” Jason shook his head. _‘He’s even more powerful than when he was the green ranger. And we barely survived that.’_

“You guys, we can’t give up,” Kat said as she moved to her knees.

“There has to be something we can do to help break this spell on him,” Tanya said.

“Last time,” Jason said, “It was the breaking of his sword that broke him out of the spell.”

“Somehow I don’t think it’s going to be that easy,” Rocky muttered as he moved unsteadily to his feet.

“And staying here isn’t going to help break him out of the spell either,” Kat said. With that, she stood up. She took a step towards and almost lost her balance but right herself almost immediately.

“Does the pink ranger think she can take me?” Tommy asked. “They must be desperate if they sent you after me. You’re a pathetic excuse for a ranger, can’t even stand on your own…always calling for help.”

The words cut through her, but Kat paid them no mind. Instead, she took a few more steps in his direction. The others shouted after her, but she ignored them. She was determined to help Tommy anyway she could. When they saw that, the rest of the team got to their feet and went after her.

“I’m not stupid enough to believe I can take you Tommy,” She called when she close to him. “But I can try.” She pulled out her blaster and shot at him. He ducked out of the way. “I don’t want to hurt you Tommy.”

“Well that’s too bad because I _plan_ on hurting you,” he said before he charged at her.

Kat barely had time to defend herself when she got the first hit from his sword. As she tried to prevent herself from falling, she felt a blast from him which took her off the ground and she landed a few feet away.

Tommy smiled behind his helmet as she landed with a thud. He knew the rangers were his enemy but when he looked at the pink ranger he felt an extra surge of anger towards, not only her but the others as well. He felt the need to extract vengeance on them. And the first on his list was the pink ranger.

Laughing, he made his way towards her. He saw the others coming and fired off a couple of blasts which connected with them sending them back a few feet. He reached Kat and stood in front of her. He bent down and grabbed her arm to pull her up.

“You’re hurting me,” Kat said through gritted teeth.

“I haven’t begun to hurt you,” he whispered. “You don’t know the meaning of pain pink ranger, but you will find out.”  That was all the warning she got before she felt a blow to her stomach and was thrown backwards. She hit the ground again with a thud but this time, she de-morphed.

“Kat!” Tanya cried as she ran to her friend. The others caught up with her.

“How is she?” Adam asked.

“I don’t know,” Tanya said. “Kat, can you hear me?” A moan was her response.

Tommy looked at the group and let out a chilling laugh. “Well, the pink bitch is out. Kitty-cat should have never stuck her nose where it didn’t belong. Curiosity after all killed the ‘cat’.”

_(Florida)_

Kim sat on her bed, completely unaware of her surroundings. Her body was still, almost frozen as she was in a trance-like state. Through her connection to Brennan and Tommy, she saw and heard everything her did and said.  _‘_

_Oh my God, this is worse than the green ranger.’_  Kim knew from his words to Kat and the feelings running through him that he was going to hurt them a lot more than normal.  _‘With all the anger that he has towards them with the way they were treating you, the rangers are not going to survive this without hurt. Tommy is the best and most dangerous one of you to ever turn evil. They won’t be able to handle him.’_ Brennan told Kim. _‘That’s why I have to help, isn’t it? I have to stop him before he hurts them even more.’_

_‘Yes Kimberly,’_ he said. _‘That’s why **only** you can help him...no one else.’ _

_‘What do I have to do?’_

_(Angel Grove)_

“Damnit Tommy,” Jason shouted. “Look at what you did.”

“I see it,” he chuckled. “She really should’ve stayed away from me.” he cocked his helmet in their direction. “Don’t worry, you’ll join her soon enough.”

“We’re your friends Tommy,” Rocky yelled at him. “Why can’t you remember that?”

At his words, Tommy stiffened in a surge of anger. His voice, when he spoke, was low and tinged with barely contained fury. “Friends?! You call yourselves my friends? I am King and I am no friends to you pathetic rangers.” He took one step forward and then stopped. “Tell me, why would I be friends with you weaklings when you don’t know how to be friends to your own friends?”

The others looked at each other in confusion.

“We’ve always been good to our friends,” Adam said.

“If the way you act is the way you’re good to your friends then it’s a good thing for me that I am not one of your **_friends_** ,” He said and he fired a couple shots at them. Tanya used her body to cover Kat while the rest moved out of the way. He took the opportunity of them not paying attention to attack them. Within seconds, they were de-morphed on the ground. Tommy stood and laughed at them. His laugh, more chilling than before, sent shivers down their spines.

“Look at you,” he taunted. “All washed up. You call yourselves rangers, I call you weak. You tell me about friendships, when you know nothing of it.”

“That’s the second time you’ve said something like that,” Jason called out as he struggled to get up. “What do you mean by it?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Tommy answered. “You people don’t deserve to be rangers just for the way that you treat so-called friends.”

“We treat our friends well,” Tanya said. “But you don’t seem to remember that. I mean, look at the way you treated Kat.”

“She deserved it,” Tommy said. “You say you’re good friends. After all, you’re here to claim that I am your friend, but I would never be friends with you people.”

“But you are,” Rocky said. “Why do you insist on trying to prove that we’re bad friends?”

“Oh but I can prove it blue ranger,” he said.

“How?” Kat asked.

“So the kitty-cat is alright,” he said. “Next time I’ll hurt you even more; you and the blue wolf.”

“Blue wolf; what blue wolf?” Tanya asked.

“Billy,” Rocky and Adam muttered. “He’s talking about Billy,” Rocky continued. 

“Tell us how we’re bad friends,” Jason said, confused about the Billy part but desperate to know what Tommy was thinking.

“According to you, you’re very good people and even better friends,” Tommy said. “You treat each other and your other friends with respect and you are there for them no matter what. Is that what you really are?”

“Yes that’s what we are,” Kat said. “We here for you because we’re your friends even if you can’t remember that.”

“Then tell me about your friendship with the pink ranger,” Tommy said.

“Kat?” Jason asked in confusion. “She’s our friend Tommy.”

“Not that pink ranger you idiot,” Tommy said. “I don’t even know why she’s a ranger when she can’t even be a friend. No, I’m talking about **_the_** pink ranger...the better one...the first one.”

“Kimberly,” the name, though whispered by Kat, was clearly heard by Tommy.

“And give the kitty a prize,” he clapped. “So there is a brain in there somewhere. Yes, I’m talking about Kimberly. What is your friendship with **_that_** pink ranger?” 

The rangers looked at each other. They had no idea why Tommy asked them that.

“She was our friend,” Rocky said.

“Was? And why isn’t she your friend anymore?” Tommy asked as he started walking around.

“Because of what she did to you Tommy,” Kat said. “She hurt you.”

“Oh really?” he asked. “And how did she hurt me?”

“She broke up with you in a letter,” Jason said.  “She cheated on you.”

“How are you so sure that that’s what happened?” Tommy stopped and turned in his direction.

“He may not be, but we are,” Adam said. “I was the one that read the letter. She said she had met someone else. She did cheat on you Tommy.”

“So because she cheated on me, all of you decided to stop being her friend?” Tommy asked. “Wasn’t she your friend as well? Didn’t you just say that you stick by your friends no matter what?”

The rangers couldn’t answer, and Tommy didn’t give them a chance to. “Tell me, if _I_ was the one she cheated on, then why did all of you sever your ties with her?”

Again they couldn’t answer. “And you call yourself friends, you disgust me.”

“We had a right to,” Kat yelled out. “She treated you like shit Tommy. She claimed to love you and the first chance she got, she cheated on you. We were right to cut ties with her. She doesn’t deserve you.”

Tommy felt uncontrolled fury coursing through his body.  “She doesn’t deserve me? Why you little...and what do you think that **_you_** deserve me? You must be dreaming kitty-cat. I would never lower myself to be with the likes of you.”

Kat let out a gasp at his words. She couldn’t deny that they tore through her. Her heart felt as if it was breaking. She felt Tanya’s hand on her shoulders.

“It’s just the spell talking Kat,” she whispered. “He has no idea what he’s saying.”

“Why are you doing this Tommy?” Jason asked.

“Because you all deserve it,” he said. “It’s time to destroy you rangers once and for all.” He took a step forward, but before he could go anymore, he collapsed to his knees letting out a scream of agony as a surge of power coursed through his body.

_(Minutes earlier—dream world...or Tommy’s mind)_

_Kim opened her eyes to see herself in a vast and empty landscape. She looked around in confusion, wondering how she got where she was and where ‘there’ was._

_**‘What’s going on? Where am I?’** she started walking, hoping that she would eventually figure out where she was. She also wondered where Brennan flew off to. She walked for what felt like hours until she came upon what looked like a rock and a lake. **‘This reminds me of the lake in Angel Grove. Is that where I am?’**_

**_‘No my dear,’_ ** _a voice said. **‘You’re in Tommy’s mind.’**  She looked up to see Brennan flying towards her. _

**_‘Brennan, what’s going on?’_ ** _she asked. **‘I thought I was supposed to be helping Tommy?’**_

**_‘That’s why you’re here Kimberly,’_ ** _he said as he settled on the rock. **‘This is the only way to help Tommy. Here is where you will be able to turn him back to our side.’**_

**_‘What do I do?’_ ** _Kim asked. Before he could answer, she heard a noise coming from the lake. Looking over, she saw Tommy being suspended in mid-air by ropes._

**_‘TOMMY!’_ ** _she moved to go to him, but was stopped by Brennan. **‘Bren, let me go…I have to help him.’**_

**_‘I know,’_ ** _he said. **‘To help him, you will need to search your heart. Use his other half for that will be the only way you will be able to get through to him. They have his mind heavily clouded and the evil is most in his wrist. Although, if you free his mind, then it will be easier to release the evil power in his wrist. But, are you strong enough to do this Kimberly? You could get hurt.’**_

**_‘I don’t care about that Brennan,’_ ** _she said. **‘Tommy needs me and I will help him. I may not be strong enough, but I will never know unless I try. I love him…but then again, you already knew that.’** He nodded before he flew off the rock and circled above her. _

**_‘Save him Kimberly,’_ ** _he said. **‘For all our sake.’** And with that, he let out a cry before he disappeared. _

_Kim turned back towards the lake...to Tommy. She wondered what Brennan had said about using his other half. She thought for a few minutes before it hit her. **‘Of course, Shalimar.’**_

_Focusing on where her Ninjetti powers were and how she felt about Tommy, Kim concentrated. She stood there for a few seconds until she felt the power and she heard the screech of the crane. **‘YES! I did it!’** Calming herself down, she called out to the bird as it flew into view. **‘Shalimar?’**_

**_‘Kimberly, my human,’_ ** _the bird replied as it descended towards her. **‘I have missed you so.’**_

**_‘I’d like to chat Shal, but I need your help...Tommy needs our help actually.’_ **

**_‘What is the matter with our falcon?’_ **

**_‘He was turned evil by the machine empire,’_ ** _Kim replied. **‘I need your help to break the spell from over him.’**_

**_‘And you shall have it.’_ **

**_‘Ok,’_ ** _Kim sighed before she turned back to the lake where Tommy was hovering. Dropping into the very familiar and well missed stance, she brought her hands up as she called forth her powers._

_**‘I am the pink crane, agile and graceful. I call upon the power of the ancient ninjetti. Come forth to help bring the white falcon, winged lord of the skies back to the side of good.’** As she said the last word, she felt a surge of power go through her body. She focused on Tommy and concentrated on bringing his body towards her. She felt a pull and when she opened her eyes; his body was lying at her feet. Kneeling down over him, she placed her hand on his head and the other over his heart. **‘I am the pink ninjetti, the holder of the crane powers; the winged lady of the skies. I call to my heart, my other half, my mate, the white ninjetti, holder of the falcon powers and the winged lord of the skies. Come to me, I summon thee.’** she felt a surge of power, even stronger than before go through her and enter Tommy’s body._

_She watched as his body glowed pink before it glowed white. She felt his body surge as it accepted the powers before he disappeared. The moment he did, she felt the instant connection to his mind and heard a scream of agony. She knew in that instant that he was fighting the evil in his mind. Focusing on him, she disappeared to where he was._

_(Physical World)_

The others looked on in shock, horror and surprise as Tommy fell to the ground.

“What’s going on?” Tanya asked.

“I don’t know,” Jason said, “But it almost looks like he’s fighting through the spell.”

“What is going on?” Shego asked. “My King, are you alright?” he took a step towards Tommy but was blown back by a blast. Tommy, still on his knees, held his head in one hand, while the other was outstretched.

“What’s happening to me?” Tommy asked.  He screamed again as he felt another surge.

_(Tommy’s Mind)_

_When Kim landed, she saw a black cloud hovering some feet in front of her. As she looked at it, she thought that it looked like it was covering something. When she looked closer, she realized that it was Tommy. Immediately, she knew that it was trying to regain control over him. She wouldn’t let that happen._

_Moving towards him, she called out. **‘Damnit Tommy, fight it. You’re stronger than this. Don’t let it control you.’**  She raised a hand towards him and yelled, **‘CRANE POWER, WIND BLAST!’**  A strong wind came from her hand and went straight to Tommy. It blew the cloud from around him, giving her a chance to go to him. **‘Tommy, are you alright?’**_

**_‘Kim? What are you doing here? How did you get here?’_ ** _he asked._

**_‘You needed me,’_ ** _she smiled. **‘Besides, after all the times you’ve saved me, I definitely owe you. Come on Tommy, you can do this. You’re strong enough to fight this. Fight it Tommy, do it for me.’**_

_(Physical World)_

“What’s going on?” Tommy asked as he struggled to his feet. “It feels like something’s tearing away in my head.”

Kat looked over at Tommy. She could see, as well as the others, that Tommy was indeed somehow fighting the spell. Forgetting the words that were spoken before, she took a step forward.

“Kat, what are you doing?” Jason asked.

“Look at him Jason,” she said. “Somehow he’s fighting the spell. Maybe if we encourage him, it will help him even more. What have we got to lose?”

“She’s right Jase,” Rocky said. “It can’t hurt to try.”

“Alright,” Jason said, “But no one gets too close. We don’t want him to lash out at us again.” With that, they walked over to Tommy.

“You can do this Tommy,” Kat said. “We right here with you.”

“Come on bro,” Jason said. “You’re strong enough to break free.”

“We need our fearless leader back,” Rocky said.

“We can’t be a team without you Tommy,” Adam said.

“So come back to us,” Tanya added. 

_(Tommy’s Mind)_

_Kim could see Tommy struggling with the hold the cloud had over him. She bit her lip as she thought of what to do. Getting an idea, she stepped forward._

_Seeing her coming closer, Tommy looked at her in panic. **‘NO! Kim, stay back. Please Beautiful; I don’t want you to get hurt.’**_

**_‘You would never hurt me Tommy,’_ ** _she said. **‘You didn’t when you were the green ranger and you wouldn’t now. It’s not in you to hurt me.’** she took a breath and let it out slowly. She looked directly into his eyes and spoke from her heart. **‘I love you Thomas James Oliver; always and forever and nothing is going to change that. So fight this and come back to me.’**_

_(Physical World)_

They took steps toward him but stopped when he backed away and said. “No. Stay away from me.” They stood there and watched as his ranger suit disappeared and re-appeared.

“It’s working,” Kat said. The others silently agreed with her. Kat, seeing Tommy still struggling, wondered about how else to help him. As she looked at him, she could see why she had fallen for him. Getting an idea, she walked towards Tommy.

“What are you doing Kat?” Tanya asked.

“I have an idea,” she answered. When she was in front of Tommy, she focused on all her love for him and pulled him into a hug. Tommy froze for a split second before he thrust her away from him. Stunned, Kat fell to the ground. The others rushed up to her and helped her up.

“Are you ok?” Adam asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she answered. She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by a scream of pure agony from Tommy. When they looked over, they saw him glowing pure white. They watched as he let out a white beam towards Shego and the other general and watched as it connected dead on. The dome faded as did the white glow surrounding Tommy. They saw that he was wearing the same clothes from earlier.

Tired, Tommy couldn’t stop himself from falling to his knees. Getting over their shock, the others ran towards him.

_(Tommy’s Mind—a few minutes earlier)_

_As he looked into her eyes, Tommy felt an answering emotion in him. He focused on it and let it build and consume him._

_Kim took a step forward and hugged him, paying no attention to the black cloud around him. She reached up to kiss him when she felt another presence.  She recognized the presence to be Kat’s and felt the love coming from the blonde. Pain, jealousy and hurt flashed through Kim and she took a step back from Tommy._

_Sensing what was wrong; Tommy felt annoyance and anger towards the blonde. The cloud of evil, feeling the anger, used it to gain hold of him again._

_Kim shook her head and stood looking at him. She felt Kat’s presence leave and she looked at him._

_Fighting the hold over him, Tommy looked into her eyes. **‘I love you Kim...only you...no one else. Always and forever remember?’**  When he saw her nod, he let out a sigh of relief. Deciding enough was enough; he focused on his love for her and again let it build and consume him. He was satisfied when he saw and felt the cloud release its hold on his mind. _

_Kim, filled with joy, ran towards him. **‘You did it Tommy.’** laughing, she threw her arms around his neck. _

_Burying his face in her neck, her strawberry scent filled his senses. **‘I couldn’t do it without your help Kim.’**_

_Looking over his shoulder, she saw the cloud still hovering. **‘We still have one thing left to do.’**  _

_He released her and turned around. Looking at the cloud then back at Kim, he saw her nod._

_**‘You have to call your powers first. The Ninjetti ones.’** She told him. **  
**_

**_‘Alright.’_ ** _Closing his eyes, Tommy focused on where his Ninjetti powers used to be. After a few minutes, he felt the familiar and opened his eyes to the screech of the falcon. **‘Brennan.’**_

**_‘Tommy, it’s good to be with you again.’_ **

**_‘Same here,’_ ** _Tommy said. **‘Are you ready for this?’**_

**_‘Yes,’_ ** _he answered. **‘Let’s do it,’** he said. **‘I am the white falcon, just and able. I call upon the powers of the ancient Ninjetti.’**   Tommy felt the power come over him like a warm blanket. And instinctively knew what to do. He looked again at Kim and said. **‘Ready Kim?’**_

**_‘Let’s do this.’_ **

_Taking their positions, they brought their hands up and called on their powers._

**_‘NINJETTI THE CRANE!’_ **

**_‘NINJETTI THE FALCON!’_ ** _Within minutes, the two stood there, garbed in their Ninjetti uniform, except this time, Tommy’s falcon on his chest plate was intertwined with a crane and he had pink out lining the edge of the uniform. For Kim, where Tommy had his falcon and her crane was her pink crane intertwined with a white falcon and she had white outlining the edges of her uniform._

_Turning to the cloud, they raised their hands. **‘WE COMBINE THE POWERS OF THE WHITE FALCON AND THE PINK CRANE, THE LORD AND LADY OF THE SKIES, TO BANISH THIS EVIL ONCE AND FOR ALL. WHITE CRANE BLAST!’**  the cloud disappeared with a loud shriek and they watched as the scenery changed from the black, empty place to the rock by the lake. _

_Turning to Tommy, Kim looked up at him. **‘It’s gone. You’re you again.’**_

**_‘Thanks for the help.’_ **

**_‘Anytime,’_ ** _she smiled. She looked around before looking back at him once more. **‘It’s time for you to go back.’** Stepping forward, she reach up and pulled his head towards her and placed a soft kiss on his lips and pulled away. **‘I love you.’**_

**_‘I love you too.’_ **

**_‘When you get home,’_ ** _she said as she stepped away. **‘Call me.’**_

**_‘Alright.’_ ** _As they both faded away, he whispered, **‘See you soon Beautiful.’**  The last thing he saw before he disappeared was her answering grin. _

_(Physical World)_

“Are you ok?” Jason asked as he reached out a hand to help him. He was shocked when Tommy pushed him away and even more shock by his following words. “Don’t touch me.”

“Tommy?” Kat called.

“Is he still under the spell?” Tanya asked.

“No I’m not,” Tommy answered her. Before anyone could say anything else, they heard their communicators beep.

“Go ahead Zordon,” Jason said when he realized that Tommy wasn’t going to answer.

“Teleport to the Command Chamber immediately.”

“We’re on our way,” Jason said. They teleported out and within seconds, they landed at the Chamber.

Billy looked up from where he was working on the viewing globe and moved towards them. “Guys, you’re back.” He turned his attention to Tommy and moved towards him, but was shocked when Tommy stepped away. “Tommy, you ok?”

Tommy said nothing as he walked away from the group and over to the console.

“What just happened?” Billy asked, looking from Tommy to the others.

“We have no idea,” Rocky said.

“What happened down there?” Billy asked. “Moments after you guys got there, we lost visual.”

“The general Shego had placed a barrier around us,” Adam said. “No one could get in or out. So I’m guessing that included visuals as well.”

“How did you guys break Tommy out of the spell?”

“We didn’t,” Tanya said. “He broke out of it by himself.” 

“How bad was it?” Billy asked, fearing the answer.

“It was bad,” Rocky said. “Tommy was really cruel and he was strong as hell.”

“I couldn’t believe the way he treated Kat,” Adam said. “It was like he really had it out for her.”

Billy sighed. Everything they said was reminiscent of the evil green ranger. “You guys have never encountered evil Tommy before, but it sounds exactly like when he first became a power ranger and was turned by Rita.”

Kat and Jason were the only ones who weren’t participating in the discussion. Kat, because she was worried about Tommy and Jason because his mind was going over everything that was spoken before. He shook out of his thoughts to see Kat walking over to Tommy. When she placed a hand on his shoulder, he watched as Tommy violently shook her hand off.

“Tommy, talk to us,” she pleaded. “What’s wrong? Do you think that we’re going to blame you for what happened? Because we aren’t.”

Tommy ignored her and kept his head bowed.

Zordon looked down at his rangers in sadness. He could only guess at what had happened, but he was sure that it was bad and a lot of things were said in the process. The problem with being evil was that you usually spoke the truth and you didn’t care who it hurt. And with everything that had happened with Kimberly, he was sure that Tommy had plenty to say.

“I have nothing more to say to either one of you,” Tommy said. His voice soft yet loud enough to be heard by the others. “And frankly, I don’t care whether you blame me or not because I’m not sorry for anything I said.” That caused a reaction from everyone.

“What do you mean?” Tanya asked.

“Are you saying that you meant every word you said down there?” Jason asked

“Exactly,” he said. “It might’ve been harsh but most of it was the truth.”

“Which part was the lie?” Rocky asked, remembering when he called them pathetic.

“When I said the rangers were weak and pathetic,” he replied. “That part was a lie. Everything else though was true.”

“Even what you said to me?” Kat asked her voice tinged with pleading note, almost as if she’s begging him to deny it.

“Even that,” he told her, his back still turned. “I meant what I said to you Katherine.”

“But why Tommy?” she asked. “I thought we were friends...I thought you were my friend.”

At that, he let out a laugh and turned to face the group. “Friends? Friends? Do you guys even know what the word mean?”

“Of course we do,” Rocky said. “We’re your friends Tommy.”

“My friends,” he said, “Just like you were Kimberly’s friends?” he didn’t give them a chance to answer. “I asked once before and I’ll ask it again, if I was the one that Kim cheated on, why did all of you cut all ties to her?” Like before, they couldn’t answer.

Billy frowned as he looked at Tommy. He looked at him and said, “You needed us Tommy. She hurt you and you needed us. You were our friend and you were the one most in need.”

“She was your friend first Billy,” Tommy said. “You knew Kim longer than I did and you turned your back on her. Do you remember seventh grade Billy?”

“Yes,” Billy answered, silently wondering where Tommy was going with it.

“Kim told me how some girls on the dance treated you,” Tommy said. “Do you remember that?”

“Yes,” he answered a sinking feeling in his heart.

“And do you remember what it was that Kim did?” Tommy asked. “She quit the team for you, didn’t she? She quit the team because you were her friend and she wasn’t going to let anyone walk over you and treat you like that. She also promised you that she would always be there for you. And she was. Yet the one time that she needed you, you turned on her without a second thought.”

Billy bowed his head feeling ashamed.

Tommy turned to Adam and Rocky. “The two of you became friends with me the same time that you became friends with Kim, yet you turned on her for me. Why? Did you guys forget who it was that helped you understand about being rangers and being the new kids in school? Did you forget about whom it was that went out of her way to make you feel welcome and feel like you were a part of the group?”

The two couldn’t answer as they too bowed their heads in shame.

He turned next to Kat. “You, more than those two (pointing at Rocky and Adam), shouldn’t have been so against Kim. Apparently you forgot how it is that you became a ranger in the first place. You almost killed Kim and she turned around forgave you for it. If it wasn’t for her, you never would’ve been a ranger.  The truth is Kat, the only reason I forgave for putting her in the hospital was because of her. She asked me to. You owe her a lot Kat, and how do you repay her? You bad mouth her the second she makes a mistake. The mistake that you made was bigger than hers. Yours almost cost her life, and her mistake was finding someone else. You had no right Kat and the only reason you did was because you somehow thought and hoped that you and I would end up together. Well I’m telling you now; it’s not going to happen. I couldn’t be with someone that would turn on her friends as quickly as you did.”

Kat felt tears run down her cheeks as each word was spoken. Hearing everything out loud like and Tommy’s rejection was like a knife to her heart. She couldn’t speak except for the few sobs that tried to escape her tightly closed throat.

“Tanya,” he started. “You’re probably the only one that had any right to think of Kim the way you did because you’ve never met her. You don’t have the first hand experience of knowing Kim, all you had to go on was what we said about her. Considering the fact that Kat is your best friend and your lifeline...after all, she’s the only other female in the group and you live with her...your actions would be based on _her_ actions. And for that I can’t blame you. Am I a little mad that you judged Kim and you’ve never met her, yes, I am; but I understand.”

Tanya gave him a nod and a small smile to show that there was no hard feelings to what he said.

Taking a breath, Tommy turned to the final person in the group. The one he was most disappointed in. “When I first became a ranger, I hated you. Not because you were the leader but because of the closeness between you and Kim. I liked her and I was jealous of what the two of you had. When you guys broke the spell on me and asked me to join the team, I couldn’t believe it. After I started spending time with the group, you guys became my best friends. Well, you and Kim more than the others. I admired you Jason, because you were the leader and you were the first to hold out your hand as friendship to me after the spell was broken. When we became friends, you became my best male friend; the one who was my equal in everything. As I got to know you, I got to understand the relationship between you and Kim. You were her big brother. She looked up to you and respected your decisions and approval a lot. That’s why I was so terrified to ask her out. I was asking out your little sister, who I really liked and I knew that your approval of our relationship had meant a lot to her. She told me that for as long as she could remember, you were her rock; the one constant thing in her life that she knew she could depend on. You were someone that was always there for her. she also told me about the promise you made her when you were five years old.”

When he said that, Jason’s eyes went wide in recognition. Seeing it, Tommy continued, “You know what it is and I’m not going to repeat it. But because of that, because of how much I know you meant to her, I’m most disappointed in you Jase. You were the one person who she thought would always be there for her. The one protected her for as long as she could remember, the one she trusted the most. But you destroyed that trust when you abandoned her. She needed someone in her corner and no one was there. You did the one thing you promised her you wouldn’t and now she’s left picking up the pieces. I’m disappointed and angry at you more than the others because I thought that if anyone would defend her, it would be you. I guess I was wrong.”

“Tommy, I...” Jason started. But Tommy shook his head and took a step back.

“Before, I thought of you guys as my teammates and my friends, but now I can’t. True friends don’t do to each other what you did to Kim," Taking a breath, he stepped back a few more steps and looked at the group. "I’m not going to abandon this team, that would be selfish and besides, even if I don’t trust you as friends, I do trust you when we’re in battle. But I’m not the one who’s friendship and trust you have to worry about.” He shook his head sadly. “The funny thing is, if any of you had even bothered to call Kim, to talk to her, then you would’ve known that the letter was a lie.”

“What?” they asked as one.

“Kim never fell in love with anyone else,” he told them. “She was lying when she said that. The only part of the letter that was true was when she said that Coach Schmidt was getting her ready for the competitions...everything else were a lie.”

“How do you know?” Tanya asked.

“Because she came to see me a few days after I got the letter,” he answered her. “At first we kind of yelled at each other, but then we ended up talking about it and what it meant.”

“Does that mean you guys are still together?” Rocky asked.

“No,” he said to their shock. “We decided that with my being a ranger and her needing to focus on her gymnastics, that it was best if we broke things off and be friends. Yeah, we still love each other but for right now, we’re not together, we can't _be_ together. And I think it was the best thing to happen to us.”

“How so?” Adam asked.

“She and I are closer than before,” he said. “As much as we love each other, now that we don’t have the pressures of being boyfriend/girlfriend while dealing with our vigorous activities, we can actually focus on building our friendship and that’s what we’re doing. And we decided that someday when our lives are settled and we don’t have anything in our way, we’d give it another go. But until then, we’re friends.”

“Tommy, I don’t know what to say,” Jason said. “I mean—

“Jase, don’t,” he cut him off. “I’m still angry at you guys and I can’t be here anymore. You guys have a lot to think about and if I stay around you, then I’m just going to keep thinking on everything and I’m going to be even more pissed that I am. So I think it’s best if anything you guys have to say, you keep it to yourselves for now. I’m sorry, but that’s how I feel.” He sighed and ran a hand through his head. “I have to go.” He raised his wrist to teleport but was stopped by Zordon.

“Tommy I have one question.”

“What is it Zordon?”

“How was it that you were able to break the hold that the Machine Empire had on you?”

“Kimberly,” he said and shrugged at their shocked faces.

“How so?” Zordon asked.

“I don’t know really,” he answered. “but she was with me and we used our Ninjetti powers to break the hold.”

“But those powers were destroyed,” Billy said.

Tommy shrugged again. “Well, I’d say ask Kim, as she was the one who told me how to do it, but I won’t.” At the questioning looks, he said, “The games are coming up and I refuse to allow her to go through what she did before she left for Florida. And besides, none of you are talking to her, remember and even if you do decide to talk to her now, I know it’s going to take awhile for _her_ to talk with you. I got to go. See you Zordon.” And with that, he teleported out in a flash of red.

The gang stood there looking at the spot for a few shocked seconds. They slowly came back to awareness, though they were still thinking on what he said earlier. Turning to the group, Jason said, “We should probably go.”

“I agree,” Zordon said. “Rangers, you have a lot to think about on what was revealed. I must say that I agree with everything Tommy said and I find myself disappointed at your actions.”

“But Zordon,” Kat said, “How were we supposed to react?”

“Better than that young Katherine,” Zordon said. “Gasket received a blow today with the destruction of one of his most prized generals. I advise that you take this opportunity to think on what Tommy has spoken onto you. You are dismissed.” At his words, the rangers’ teleported back home. Zordon let out a sigh. He couldn’t believe how far this had gotten.

“Zordon, what do you think will happen?” Alpha asked.

“They will make it through this Alpha,” he replied. “I have faith in them.”

~...~

Tommy landed in his bedroom. He shook his hair out of its ponytail and went straight into the shower. Twenty minutes later, he came out wearing boxers and a t-shirt. He crawled under the covers and grabbed his cell phone. Flipping it open, he found Kim’s number and pressed the call button. Three rings later, she picked up.

_“Hi.”_

“Hey Kim,” he said as he settled on the bed. “How are you? NO after effects of the powers returning?”

_“NO, none whatsoever,” she replied. “How do you think we got them back?”_

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m just glad we did.”

_“So how did it go back at the Chamber?”_

“I told them,” he replied. “I told them about you, me, the letter and our decision.”

_“You did?” she asked. “Why?”_

“They thought I was feeling regretful for what I said under the spell and I wasn’t,” he said, frustration creeping up in his tone. “I just couldn’t take it anymore Kim. I couldn’t take how they were treating you. So I told them what I really thought.”

_“I bet they were shocked.”_

“They were, but I didn’t care,” he sighed, “I just wanted them to understand and know what they were doing and why they shouldn’t feel the way that they do. I told them that they should think on it before ever approaching you.”

_“Thanks for defending me.”_

“You never have to thank me for that Kim,” he replied. “Hey, no one saw you, did they?”

_“No,” she answered. “My door was closed tight when I came to and when I checked the dorm, my roommate was already sleeping. So I’m safe.” She let out a yawn. “I’m sorry.”_

He chuckled. “It’s ok, I’m pretty tired myself. The day flew by really fast and with everything that happened, I’m pretty sure that the moment I hang up, I’m going to be dead to the world.

_She laughed. “Same here. I’m too tired to think about anything, so we’ll have to have the talk about our returning Ninjetti powers some other time.”_

“Sounds good,” he said. “Goodnight Kim, I’ll talk to you later.”

_“Talk to you later too,” she said. “Oh and Tommy? everything’s going to work itself out. You’ll see.”_

“I believe you,” he smiled. “Goodnight.”

_“Goodnight,” she said before she hung up._

True to his word, Tommy fell asleep the moment he relaxed his head on his pillow. Miles across the state, down in Florida, the same thing happened to Kim. Both had smiles on their faces and both knew that despite everything that had happened, they still had their someday to look forward to.

**Author's Note:**

>  **A/N:** what did you guys think?


End file.
